NMC welcomes two new Council members

1 September 2016

The NMC is pleased to announce the appointment, by the Privy Council, of two new Council members. Derek Pretty, who will serve as a Lay member and Ruth Walker, a Registrant member from Wales will join the Council from 1 September 2016

"I am delighted to welcome Derek and Ruth to the NMC as our two new Council members and I look forward to working alongside them. They each bring with them a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise and I’m sure they will make a valuable contribution to the Council."

Derek Pretty is non-Executive Chair of South West One Ltd, a public-private shared services partnership in Somerset. He is also a Governor of the University of St Mark and St John and of the Wells Cathedral School. Derek was Registrar and Secretary at the University of Bristol for 12 years and prior to that was Finance Director for a number of large retail groups.

Ruth Walker is Executive Nurse Director at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, one of the largest Health Boards in Wales. As well as being the professional lead for nurses and midwives, Ruth is a member of the Health Board where she is lead director for a range of areas including quality, safety, health and care standards and patient experience. She has also undertaken a number of national and ambassadorial roles on behalf of Welsh nursing.

Notes:

The Council is the governing body of the NMC it sets the strategic direction for the organisation and the standards by which registered nurses and midwives must work.

The Council is made up of six members from a registrant background and six from a non-registrant or lay background and must also include members from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Ruth Walker has been appointed as the member from Wales and it is a condition of hers appointment that she continues to live or work wholly or mainly in Wales.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent professional regulator for nurses and midwives in the UK. We exist to protect the public. We do this by maintaining the register of qualified nurses and midwives and setting standards of education, training, conduct and performance. We make sure that nurses and midwives keep their skills and knowledge up to date through a regular revalidation process. If concerns are raised about the standards of a registered nurse or midwife, we have a duty to investigate and, where necessary, take action to protect the public.